Canada's Shortlisted Nominees For The New $5 Bill Include Terry Fox
The search for who would be featured on the new version of Canada's $5 bill has now been whittled down to eight possibilities. The Bank of Canada announced its shortlist on November 9, and it includes some admirable and important figures from the nation's history. Prominent women, Indigenous people, and a Chinese-Canadian were among them.
The Bank of Canada made it clear that they had applied specific criteria in creating the shortlist. The nominees must have enacted positive change, their impact must be known across the nation and reflect Canadian values, they must be unique and known beyond their communities, and their impact must still be relevant.
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Who made the shortlist?
One of eight people will be chosen to appear on the $5 bill.
Among them is none other than Terry Fox. The iconic Canadian is most known for his 1981 Marathon of Hope, which helped to raise funds for cancer research.
The list also includes prominent Indigenous figures from the country's history: internationally renowned artist Pitseolak Ashoona, First World War veterans Binaaswi (Francis Pegahmagabow) and Onondeyoh (Frederick Ogilvie Loft), and Blackfoot Confederacy leader Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot).
There are two more female nominees: Robertine Barry, the first French-Canadian female journalist (who went by the penname 'Françoise') and Lotta Hitschmanova, a Czech refugee who became one of the country's most prominent and important humanitarians.
Finally, Won Alexander Cumyow, the first known Chinese-Canadian born in Canada rounds out the list. He was instrumental in closing the gap between English-speaking and Chinese communities in Vancouver.
What were the rules?
The Bank of Canada had laid out clear guidelines about which Canadians could be nominated to appear on the newly designed bill.
The first ground rule was that nominees must be Canadian citizens (either by birth or naturalization) and that they must have demonstrated "outstanding leadership, achievement, or distinction in any field, benefiting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada."
There was also a cutoff date for when the person passed away. The rule states that they must have been deceased for at least 25 years (prior to March 11, 1995).
Finally, the nominees could only be real people and not fictional characters.
Who else was nominated?
The Bank of Canada received hundreds of nominees before whittling it down to just eight.
Some of those include former prime ministers like John A. MacDonald (whose own legacy has come under more scrutiny recently), William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Lester B. Pearson.
It also wouldn't be a list of famous Canadians without a few hockey players. Iconic names like Tim Horton, Jacques Plante, and Terry Sawchuck were all put forward as possibilities.
Early on in the discussion of who should grace the newest banknote, people even suggested figures like Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie and even Don Cherry.
However, neither of them meet all of the necessary criteria for nomination.